Six days before the 2020 commencement ceremony would have been held, Julia Nadeau (pictured on the cover) and her family decided to take matters into their own hands. The official event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The family traveled from Lowell so Julia, who’d graduated in December with a dual-degree in English and secondary education and was scheduled to participate in the May 16 ceremony, could mark this major rite of passage in some way.
“It would have been nice to have a last hurrah, but it still feels good,” she said, as she posed on the steps of Boyden Hall on that windy Sunday afternoon holding her diploma and wearing a borrowed cap and gown.
Accompanying her and decked out in BSU garb were her parents, Joe and Celeste Nadeau. Siblings Lydia and Sam were also present for the photo session. (Her boyfriend and fellow Bear, Connor Beaumont, ’20, is in the National Guard and was called into service during the pandemic.)
Like most BSU seniors, Julia said she is looking forward to when the 2020 commencement ceremony is finally held.